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Rating: 
Summary: After all, Lewis bears repeating...
Review: The book is a collection of sixteen articles written by as many contributors, each focusing on the evangelistic import of the life and work of C.S. Lewis. These are dispersed under four headings, as follows: Pt.I The Motivation: The Influence and Potential of Lewis's Evangelism; Pt.II The Explanation: Why Was Lewis Such an Effective Evangelist?; Pt.III The Technique: Making Christianity Plausible; Pt.IV The Argument: Defending the Faith. As I am not aware of any other book that so specifically approaches this angle of Lewis, I recommend it to all who are interested in learning more about the motivation behind the man. However, (with all due respect to Mr. Menuge, whose own article outlining certain similarities between the Apostle Paul and Lewis is interesting enough)... I feel that the book as a whole would have benefitted by more careful editing. For instance, there are quotations (some lengthy) which are repeated, and several instances when the reader is left to wonder "Hey, didn't I just read about this in a previous article?" ...Well actually, yes you DID ! On the redeeming side, the book opens with Wayne Martindale's excellent and much needed expose of the inaccuracies latent in the 1993 film "Shadowlands" which featured Anthony Hopkins in the role of Lewis. Martindale's research reveals that those most closely involved in the production of this (otherwise commendable) movie were not governed by portrayal of truth or fact. And those who are interested in Lewis's personal understanding of "longing" or "sehnsucht" will appreciate Douglas T. Hyatt's article entitled "Joy, The Call Of God In Man." Drawing much upon "The Pilgrim's Regress" Hyatt delineates Lewis's "argument from desire" and goes on to show how several other great thinkers like Augustine, Pascal, and even (horrors) Nietzsche, also taught on the concept of the "longing" that cannot be filled by any earthly thing. The occasional less-than-magnificent article notwithstanding, this is still a book that is successful in showing how consistently Christ-centered Lewis was. And considering how weighty and memorable Lewis's pronouncements always were, one wonders whether Menuge's decision at repetition was intentional. If so, I add the fifth star.
Rating:
Summary: A serious study of the evangelistic impact of Lewis.
Review: This excellent study looks at the impact of Lewis in the lives of others through his writings, such as the well known Christian writer Charles Colson, the Socratic Club of Oxford, posthumously through the movie "Shadowlands," and in other ways. Lewis described his writing, not as evangelistic writing, but as praeparatio evangelica in Latin (translated "preparation for the Gospel"). Other writers address the similarity of Lewis to the apostle Paul (editor Angus Menuge) and the usefulness of the writings of Lewis for addressing postmodern people. My recommendation: buy it!
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